Wish I could get into a discussion here about how broken and controlling the credit system is.

But anyway, as ParalegalNCO originally asked......why not enlist in an MOS that doesn't require a clearance? I don't think I saw a clear answer to this.

Everyone that joins The Air Force or Air National Guard HAS to get a clearance. I will be too old to join The Army National Guard next month and I don't have time to enlist and ship before my 35th birthday on August 18th.

Security clearances don't keep you from joining. If you are running short of time, you just need to join.

For the Army National Guard you have to enlist AND ship before your 35th birthday. Even if I went to MEPS today that is impossible to do by August 18th - my 35th birthday.

And as I have said numerous times, everyone in the AF or ANG HAS to get a minimum security clearance so yes it does keep you from joining. Because I will be 35 in less then a month, My two options now are Air National Guard and Navy Reserves.

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I have no clue if debt consolidation would help you with a security clearance, I have no experience with security clearances, but if it helped with that then I would say that's probably THE ONLY positive thing about those companies. I was a debt collector for 2 years ( I know, it was miserable, it paid well, but sad and miserable work, so laugh it up or say what you will ), and debt "consolidators" would call or send me proposals all the time offering a $25 payment per month on a $2,000 account, when I knew the debtor (their customer) made enough to afford a higher payment, and I wasn't obligated to accept their offer. We would laughingly tell them NO ( I know it's a cold cold world, especially when the Doctors who save people's lives don't get paid because people care more about their boats and homes than their hearts and limbs ).

They trick their customers into thinking that "consolidation" will help improve their credit, but in the long run, they're just charging you more money to make your payments for you, and most of the time, I would get the persons employment info from the "consolidator," and use it to sue the debtor and garnish their wages because there is no law stating that a third party collector has to accept the minimum payment offered by a consolidator or debtor. They also make it take a lot longer to pay your debts, which hurts your credit more than paying one bill, in full, at a time when you can ( advisable method to clearing your debt and improving your credit ).

When you're trying to negotiate payments with a collector, the ball is really in their court. It sucks, I know because I have debts and have paid debts too, but unfortunately most collectors are interested in getting paid, and if they know they can get more than you're offering, they'll have you served and take even more from your paycheck when you assume their attorney fees. I was always willing to work with people as a collector because I know how it is, but if I was talking to someone offering me a $25 payment ( or their hired "consolidator" ) when they make $4,000 per month because they have all of these other debts or bills that are totally irrelevant to me, I would say you can pay me $500 per month until it's paid in full, or we can send it for legal review. Some would get mad and get sued, others would wise up and pay me off. People hated me for it, which is why I left that industry to go to school as an allied health professional, but don't hate the collector because you went to the Doctor or ran up your credit. Everyone is given a fair chance to pay or make arrangements before it goes that far.

Anyways, back on track..Unless your heart is totally set on getting a security clearance, either pay your bills on your own or file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy isn't the end of the world, I'm told it will effect getting a clearance, but I was also told that you could still apply because they're granted on an individual basis where they look at the whole picture, not just your financial mishaps. Bankruptcy is also the only way of being protected from getting sued and garnished, but "consolidation" does neither. If I got commission for answering all of the phone calls from angry debtors who thought they were impervious to lawsuits because they signed up with a "consolidator", I could've retired already. Whatever you do, don't pay somebody a bunch of money to pay your bills and get you sued, which will definitely damage your credit even further. In my opinion, "consolidation" shows even less responsibility because you're foolishly paying someone else to figure out your finances for you, when you should've done it yourself, especially if you want to show that you won't let it happen again. I don't know what the military's perspective is on that, but as a person who dealt with these situations a lot first hand for a couple years, I'm offering my advice. Good luck!

I know that using a debt consolidation company is not the best route but I have accounts from back in 2006/2007 and they won't let me set up small monthly payments and I don't have enough money to pay the full amount or settlement options they have given me. If I paid the settlement amounts on each of the accounts (assuming I could), it would take me a long time to do as I don't make a ton of money. Some accounts are low enough where I can clear them up pretty quickly - which I have been slowly doing - but this isn't the case for all of my bad debt.

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They don't actually consolidate your debt though, they increase it because you have to pay them now (if you signed up). They just take 25% of your income + their own fees, and try to distribute it out to each creditor, and unless you make a lot of money, which sounds like you don't, it usually ends up being a lower amount than the creditor will take, and it costs you more in the long run. So in the end, you get sued by your creditors because now they know your employment info, and you still owe the consolidating agency. It's a lose/lose for you because you end up being further in debt!

I would advise you to save up and pay them off one at a time (or the settlement offer), or worse case scenario, file a Chapter 7. There's a lot of negative attitudes towards bankruptcy, but for some people it's the only reasonable option. I think people watched too much "Wheel of Fortune", so they hear that dreadful sound in their heads whenever they think of the word "bankrupt" ("WAH WAH WAHHHH"). It's not like your filing will put hundreds of employees out of work, or cost you millions of dollars. You can still keep most of your possessions. That's pretty much where I'm at, and my recruiter said it won't effect my enlistment in the Guard, though it did debunk my original plan of going AF, only my choice of MOS will be effected, and they said there aren't many MOS's in the Army that require a clearance anyways. I want to go 11x, so I don't need one, and I look forward to a fresh start with my financial life without having to pay off the 20k+ in medical debts I've acquired on top of over 50k in student loans, which I'll still have to pay, happily. If I could do it over again I would've invested in health insurance when I was 18, and never got a cell phone until I could afford to pay for it, but I can't take it back, and I don't want to wait 20 years to have a fresh start.

No matter what, debt consolidators are a rip-off, just call your creditors and ask them. They'll be upset that you're more willing to pay those scammers to put your money in an envelope than your debts with them. Trust me. Do what you will, but be warned, they have no more negotiating power than you do, and when I was a collector, I could never even get those damn consolidators on the phone, and if I actually did, they just made me mad and more inclined to sue the debtors because they were hiding behind these scammers instead of paying their debts the right way. It's usually more pleasant to talk to a banko attorney than them.

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I know that using a debt consolidation company is not the best route but I have accounts from back in 2006/2007 and they won't let me set up small monthly payments and I don't have enough money to pay the full amount or settlement options they have given me. If I paid the settlement amounts on each of the accounts (assuming I could), it would take me a long time to do as I don't make a ton of money. Some accounts are low enough where I can clear them up pretty quickly - which I have been slowly doing - but this isn't the case for all of my bad debt.

Another option, perhaps the best, is to not pay them at all. Just wait it out because they're almost out of statute. Most states have a 6 year statute of limitations, meaning they can no longer "actively" collect on that debt 6 years after your last payment. It can stay on your credit for up to 10 years (total), but you can't get sued for it after that point. You can still pay it, but you won't be forced to. You can even pay the reporting agencies to have them removed from your report after 7 years since your last activity. There's a loophole for ya. Check your states statutes on debts.

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Another option, perhaps the best, is to not pay them at all. Just wait it out because they're almost out of statute. Most states have a 6 year statute of limitations, meaning they can no longer "actively" collect on that debt 6 years after your last payment. It can stay on your credit for up to 10 years (total), but you can't get sued for it after that point. You can still pay it, but you won't be forced to. You can even pay the reporting agencies to have them removed from your report after 7 years since your last activity. There's a loophole for ya. Check your states statutes on debts.

They can still call you for 7 years, but they can't make you pay after 6. They'll usually call like crazy on the 6th year to scare you into paying because they know it's their last chance to try and collect on you. A little insider secret.

Another option, perhaps the best, is to not pay them at all. Just wait it out because they're almost out of statute. Most states have a 6 year statute of limitations, meaning they can no longer "actively" collect on that debt 6 years after your last payment. It can stay on your credit for up to 10 years (total), but you can't get sued for it after that point. You can still pay it, but you won't be forced to. You can even pay the reporting agencies to have them removed from your report after 7 years since your last activity. There's a loophole for ya. Check your states statutes on debts.

That really isn't an option for me. I pulled my report and some things are set to stay on until 2015. I want to pay my debt - I made the debt I need to pay it. I am just trying to do what I can to make it look good for the AF and the security clearance sooner rather then later. Some won't let me do small monthly payments and some are too big to do a settlement or completely pay off. If I could do a small $15 or so monthly payment on each then I would but like I said most won't accept that because of how long they have been with a debt collection agency.

Looks like I am going to have to go Navy Reserves. What sucks is I already got permission to physical at MEPS by the Air National Guard Surgeon General (shoulder surgery in 1998). Navy Reserves recruiter hasn't been able to obtain any records from MEPS from what my ANG recruiter had done so now I have to go through all of that with the Navy - submit my paperwork to them and hope they approve me to go to MEPS and then approve me for a waiver after I go to MEPS.
I just want to serve...

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Looks like I am going to have to go Navy Reserves. What sucks is I already got permission to physical at MEPS by the Air National Guard Surgeon General (shoulder surgery in 1998). Navy Reserves recruiter hasn't been able to obtain any records from MEPS from what my ANG recruiter had done so now I have to go through all of that with the Navy - submit my paperwork to them and hope they approve me to go to MEPS and then approve me for a waiver after I go to MEPS.
I just want to serve...

Well, I wish you luck with that! Dealing with debts are definitely a headache. Just be aware that a $15 a month payment might not even take care of the interest accruing depending on the balance. At any rate, they'll be on your report for 10 years after you pay it in full, so the sooner you pay them off the better. The AF is pretty strict, I wanted to go that route too, but the recruiter basically said "I'm broken." The way they treat you compared to the Army is night and day. My recruiter for the Guard called them the "square force."...lol

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Well, I wish you luck with that! Dealing with debts are definitely a headache. Just be aware that a $15 a month payment might not even take care of the interest accruing depending on the balance. At any rate, they'll be on your report for 10 years after you pay it in full, so the sooner you pay them off the better. The AF is pretty strict, I wanted to go that route too, but the recruiter basically said "I'm broken." The way they treat you compared to the Army is night and day. My recruiter for the Guard called them the "square force."...lol

You have really been giving a lot if inaccuratte information. Negative accounts stay on your report for 7.5 years from the first date of reported delinquency without rendering the account current again. They do not remain for 10 years, only public records remain for 10 years on a credit report such as a bankruptcy or a lien. Paying them off, is actually of no benefit, at all. It does not raise your score, it does not change the status of the account (its still listed as derog), the time for it to come off does not start once it is paid....all false information.

The only benefit, ONLY two reasons I can think of to paying them off once they are reported as collections is a security clerance situation or your mortgage lender requiring you to do it before they approve you.

It is much more cost effective, and credit repair effective to dispute the accounts.